HR Articles and Publications

Welcome to the Drake publications library.

This extensive knowledge center has been created for our clients and partners to access critical business information. Here you will find research and business advice on essential issues in human resources, management and leadership, training and development and improving businesses productivity.

Three Ways to Optimize Your Day

Do you keep a “to do” list, either mentally in your head or physically on paper or in some electronic device? If you do, it is highly likely that its contents influence greatly the type of day you are likely to have.+ more

How to Conquer Stage Fright and Unlock the Leader Within

If you are already a leader who is reluctant to speak or not good at it, overcoming stage fright will help you to inspire your team to follow your vision, explain how their tasks contribute to the big picture and persuade, not coerce, them to do the right things.+ more

How to Build a Team That Delivers

The reason individuals make it into a leadership role is because they are very good at what they do. However, effectively facilitating and orchestrating every leadership aspect is challenging. For example, leaders may set out with the intention of building a team that delivers. Many succeed, while others struggle. So how can you, as a leader, build a team that delivers? + more

Three Keys to Successful Team Building

The Traits of a True Leader

There are three fundamental areas where effective leaders differentiate themselves from competent managers, namely in how they use information, in their perspective – or point of focus – and finally in their preparedness to invest. + more

How Leaders Can Help Teams Develop:

Research suggests teams tend to exhibit certain predictable characteristics during each stage of development; therefore, the leader who anticipates each step in the process will be quick to recognize the behaviours that might help the team and those that might hinder it .+ more

Success Depends on Your Team: Tap the Potential:

Wise leaders look at what an employee can do rather than what he cannot do. + more

Why Good Leaders Learn from Their Mistakes

John C. Maxwell once stated. “A man must be big enough to admit his mistakes, smart enough to profit from them, and strong enough to correct them.” When we talk about Leadership, Taking Ownership is the most essential quality of any leader. + more

Delegating Tasks to Employees: 6 Ways to Get Positive Results

When you delegate a task, you want to feel confident that it will be completed correctly and timely. Here are six approaches you can use to increase your comfort level when delegating. + more

Five Ways to Effectively Lead Change

Are you struggling to transform your business to thrive and survive? Putting the right people at the helm has launched many high-profile, highly successful turnarounds, from Jack Welch in his early days at GE, to Meg Whitman at eBay. + more

The 5 Biggest Mistakes Managers Make When Carrying Out Staff Appraisals

Some managers take the view that people are employed to do a particular role and it is only the organization that matters. As a result, the focus of the discussion is all about the organization and there is little or no focus on the needs of the individual. + more

Build Your Leadership Brand and Move your Business Forward

The more you learn about leveraging your brand the more you can create value. You’ll be able to build a brand that can get you booked to speak at major conferences where you meet new customers. Your reputation will get you invitations to join networks or organizations you didn’t have access to before. + more

Leading Teams: How to Choose your Leadership Approach

As the team leader, the approach you use to direct your members might fall into three areas. It might be High Direction, where you do more telling and instructing. It might be Low Direction, where you do more facilitating and advising. Or, it might be a combination of High Direction and Low Direction, where you use both leadership approaches + more

Motivating a Multigenerational Workforce

Companies are struggling with the challenges of managing a more diverse workforce. These challenges often relate to mere variation in perspective and goals as a result of generational differences...+ more

Twelve Requirements for Building Effective Teams

In the uncertainties in today’s global marketplace, talk in the workplace centres around the many nuances of becoming a team, the differences between teams and groups, what it takes to work as a team, and how to make the team more effective...+ more

Fair Work Act Causes Confusion in Workplaces

Are you aware that the new Fair Work Act is the most important piece of workplace legislation for decades, and it changes everything?! To minimise the effect of the Fair Work Act on your business, read on...+ more

Are you Ready for the Fair Work Act?

The introduction of the Fair Work Act and implementation of 124 Modern Awards means all Australian businesses are affected and need to be aware of their obligations, or major fines could result! + more

Employee Engagement: Have you neglected your talent during the downturn?

As we approach an upturn in the employment market, employee engagement and retention need to become a key focus for organisations. + more

Back to the Future for Baby Boomers

Staying in the workforce for longer than originally planned has implications for Baby Boomers and offers employers a valuable opportunity to benefit from their experience. + more

Engaging Employees through Period of Layoffs

Economic volatility is taking its toll on many organisations. Recent Watson Wyatt research shows that 39% of a sample of US companies have already undertaken some employee layoffs, and an additional 23% expect to do so during the next 12 months. Twenty-three percent have undergone an organisation-wide restructuring, and another 14% foresee the need for future downsizing and layoffs. + more

Ineffective Downsizing is Leading to Long-Term Damage to Australian Employers

The current round of downsizing by employers is not achieving desired results, with employee morale and motivation diving and productivity improvement not being achieved. + more

Workplace Bullying Still Rife in Australian Companies

Bullying is still rife in Australian workplaces, a recent Drake International survey of over 800 Australia-wide employees has revealed. More than 50% of survey respondents had witnessed bullying behaviour and over 25% had been a target of bullying themselves. Poor management of the issue by Organisations was also revealed as only 30% of bullying targets and less than 50% of witnesses were satisfi ed with their organisations handling of the situation. More than 50% also noted the bullying behaviour had been going on for over 6 months. + more

Rise of the Green Collar Workforce

So what is a green job? A 'green job' will be all jobs - a 'green collar' worker will inevitably be the next iteration of our workforce. It is not a supplement to the white or blue collar workforce, it is simply an evolution to a new form of workplace and, therefore, work environment diversity. + more

Downsizing Survey Report - Ineffective Downsizing is Leading to Long Term Damage to Australian Employers

The current round of downsizing by employers is not achieving desired results, with employee morale and motivation diving and productivity improvement not being achieved, according to the latest survey by Drake International. + more

HR No Longer the Soft Discipline

The rate of change in the world today is occurring at an unprecedented pace. There are many implications for employers attached to the fragile state of the world financial systems. + more

Culture - Harnessing the Invisible Force

The past decade has borne witness to a string of corporate scandals, from human rights abuses and environmental pollution to fraudulent accounting practices. Several of the world's largest companies collapsed, whilst those that survived paid the cost with a sizable dent in profi ts and an even greater battle to turn a tide of negative public opinion back in their favour. + more

Engineering Solutions to the Skills Shortage

When it comes to attracting great employees, it starts with being a great employer. Last week in Melbourne, members of Engineering Australia gathered with HR experts to discuss strategies to ease continued business pressures caused by a dire shortage of engineering skills. + more

Global Recruitment Trends for Engineering

No engineering employer can afford to ignore the option of global recruitment, however the principles of 'Sustainable HR Practice' must not be sacrificed. Firms must aspire to be employers of choice, focusing on staff development and engagement, high performance and consequent rewards, and low staff turnover. + more

What Employees Want - The Difference Between an Attraction and Retention Strategy

With chronic skills shortages continuing to reverberate throughout Australian organisations, the spotlight has firmly been thrown on the importance of having effective strategies in place to attract and retain key staff. Knowing the difference between an attraction and retention strategy will help HR managers navigate the skills shortage. By Dr Danica Hooper, Organisational Psychologist. + more

Can I See your Time Keeping Records Please?

After its quiet arrival and the subsequent resistance by the business community that led to its revision, many employers are still confused about what the WorkChoices timekeeping requirements now mean for them. By Zipporah Szalay. + more